JAVS Fall 2007

Coates' Souvenir (written for Terris and now pub lished in original form by Weinberger). Several other pieces by Dillon, Giampieri and Groh rounded out the program. After afternoon rea, we once again had ro decide between cwo offerings. I chose co hear a recital by a promising young Australian violist, Yilin Zhu. Included on her short program were Andrew Ford's Swansong and Hindemith's Sonata, Op. 11/5. I was particular impressed with her musical presentation of the Hindemith. I asked Tom Tatton to attend and report on the con current event, a presentation for viola and live elec tronics by Max Savikangas from Finland, knowing that he wanted to support Max with his attendance. These are his thoughts. Have we completely abandoned the notion of music as the aural expression of an idea, story, mood, feeling, emotion, color or texture? Are we so liberal that a simple definition of music as organized sound will suffice and no further explanation is necessary? The bar was set high at our previous Congress X:XXV concerts and again at the final concert. Performer(s) and composer met on stage in a marriage of superb technical accomplishment and sublime inspiration where music made was the prism for listeners to experience the per formers' understanding of the composers' story. There was a real possibility of failure or success for the entire adventure and thus a heightened awareness that something beautiful and unique was happening. Art music has (or should have) high aspirations with a goal to touch the soul , stir the emotions, move the body or tap the toe, to dance, pray, cry or conjure up a picture, story or feeling. What we heard from Mr. Savikangas was not arc music. Now, one might contrast my receptive response co Mr. Lane's concert (review of day three) and my rejection of Mr. Savikangas' . I believe that Mr.

may be necessary ro play several auditions. Examine yourself under pressure and play for people you respect. • Practice getting oneself imo the anxiety-producing expenences. • Practice relaxation -deep breathing or whatever works. Slow down vibrato and practice breathing before playing. Addendum ro Day 5 by Carlos Marfa Solare: Mark Smith, who has made a thorough study of the mysteries surrounding the viola pomposa and the violoncello piccolo, shared some of his findings with an attentive audience. Curiously, he didn't seem co want people co actually see the viola pomposa that was briefly played at the beginning of the lecture and then pur away. I found Mr. Smith's lecture fascinating, even if ic was delivered in a dry-as-dust manner. I was very graceful for a detailed handout, which included a long bibliography on the subject. After morning tea, Lila Brown's solo viola recital in Elder Hall which featured old and new repertoire imermingled in an interesting way. Included were Signs, Games, andMessages by Kurrag and Ligeti 's Sonata for solo viola, interspersed with Bach's Andante from the second solo violin sonata and Gigue from the third parrita. Brown teaches in Diisseldorf, Germany, and is also the artistic director of the "Music From Salem" chamber music festival. At 2:00 pm, we were finally treated to the concert of the ca. 35-parcicipant Congress Viola Ensemble. Following daily rehearsals under the able direction of Lawrence Jacks, they were in good form and present ed arrangements by the Absolute Zero Quartet, two Bart6k Duos, and Michael Dennison's Queen of Sheba arrangement. It was great fun co hear them. This was followed by a recital with violist Deborah Lander (Australia) and David Brunell (USA) on piano. This delightful program included the world premiere public performance of a piece commis sioned for the wedding of Ms. Lander's sister and which contained many personalized references. Two pieces I particularly liked were Ibert's Aria and Eric

jQURN~ OF THE. AMERI<:AN VIOLA OCIETY 26